Stalactite & Stalagmite: A Big Tale from a Little Cave

Beckmeyer (The First Week of School) views the history of life on Earth from within a cave, via a conversation between a stalactite and stalagmite whose slow, unceasing DRIP DRIP DRIP continues in contrast to planetary change occurring outside. Occasionally, someone wanders by. “A thing is moving down there,” Stalactite observes. “I am not a thing. I am a trilobite,” replies an orange, many-segmented creature. Loosely drawn and collaged multimedia spreads carry a light-hearted goofiness that chimes with the characters’ offhand view of earth-shattering—and life-ending—events. After a visiting triceratops peers outside just in time to witness a cataclysm (“LOOK AT THOSE DAZZLING LIGHTS”), the meteors that wipe out most of the planet’s life evoke a retrospective sigh: “Remember how pretty they were?” And the speleothems wrestle with their own paradox as they anticipate merging into a single column (“Maybe becoming the us is where our story really starts”), while the planet outside hurtles into a futuristic landscape. The premise of a bond that lasts eras and epochs poses all kinds of possibilities, here pursued with wit, curiosity, and sparky energy. Human characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Contextualizing back matter concludes. Ages 4–8. Agent: Stephanie Fretwell-Hill, Red Fox Literary. (Mar.)